I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One On TV : Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Funny Man

A hilarious and moving memoir of growing up Iranian in America, and the quest to make it in Hollywood without having to wear a turban, tote a bomb, or get kicked in the face by Chuck Norris. When he first started out in show business, Maz Jobrani endured suggestions that he spice up his stand-up act by wearing "the outfit," fielded questions about rising gas prices, and got called an F-in Eye-ranian for being involved in the Iran hostage crisis even though he was only eight years old at the time - in fact, these things happened so often that he began to wonder: Could I be a terrorist without even knowing it? Having emigrated with his family to the US during the Iranian Revolution, Maz spent most of his youth desperately trying to fit in with his adopted culture - whether that meant learning to play baseball or religiously watching Dallas with his female relatives. But none of his attempts at assimilation made a difference to casting directors, who only auditioned him for the role of kebab-eating, bomb-toting, extremist psychopath. In this laugh-out-loud memoir, Maz shares his struggle to build an acting career in post-9/11 Hollywood - from playing a terrorist on 24 to playing a terrorist opposite Chuck Norris to his mother asking, "Vhy you alvays terrorist?!" (Followed by, "Vhy you couldn't be doctor?!") But finally, through patience, determination, and only the occasional unequivocal compromising of his principles, he found a path to stardom. And he also learned the proper way to die like a bad guy on TV. "A funny, insightful memoir" ( Kirkus Reviews ) about growing up Iranian in America, and the quest to make it as an actor in Hollywood without having to wear a turban, tote a bomb, or get kicked in the face by Chuck Norris. After he emigrated with his family to the US during the Iranian Revolution, Maz Jobrani spent most of his youth trying to fit in with his adopted culture—learning to play baseball and religiously watching Dallas . But none of his attempts at assimilation made a difference to casting directors, who only auditioned him for the role of kebab-eating, bomb-toting, extremist psychopath. When he first started out in show business, Maz endured suggestions that he spice up his stand-up act by wearing "the outfit," fielded questions about rising gas prices, and was jeered for his supposed involvement in the Iran hostage crisis. In fact, these things happened so often that he began to wonder: Could I be a terrorist without even knowing it? And when all he seemed to be offered were roles that required looking menacingly Arabic, he wondered if he would ever make it in America. This laugh-out-loud memoir chronicles a lifetime of both killing it and bombing on stage, with "plenty to say about matters of race, assimilation, embarrassing family members, life in America for brown-skinned people before and after 9/11, the vagaries of international pop culture, and making it in big, dumb, fizzy, sometimes beautiful America" ( The New York Times ). When he first started out in show business, none of Jobrani's attempts at assimilation made a difference to casting directors, who only auditioned him for the role of kebab-eating, bomb-toting, extremist psychopaths. As he struggled to build an acting career in post-9/11 Hollywood, through patience, determination, and only the occasional unequivocal compromising of his principles, he found a path to stardom. And he also learned the proper way to die like a bad guy on TV A Founding Member Of The Axis Of Evil Comedy Tour And Regular On Better Off Ted Recounts His Experiences As An Iranian Growing Up In America, His Efforts To Assimilate Both Cultures And His Regular Castings As A Villain On Tv And In Movies.